Getting The Guy
by virgofairy17
Summary: Sarah Nelson has always loved Cedric, but he hardly talks to her. But once Cho left the picture, can Sarah finally get Cedric to see her in a new light? Hopefully Fred and George won't screw things up for her...
1. Meet Sarah The Tomboy

**Getting the Guy**

**Chapter One: Meet Sarah The Tomboy**

**A/N: This is just a short story, and isn't expected to go over six or seven chapters (at least I hope). As for why I wrote this story? I used to write Harry Potter fanfics way back when, but never published them, and wanted to try again to see if I could still come up with something good. **

**So here, it is. A Cedric Diggory fanfic for your reading pleasure. **

**(By the way, in this story, he is alive and well...not dead, and the twins are in the same year as him)**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Hi. For those who don't know me, my name is Sarah.

Sarah Nelson.

I know, what the hell does that have to do with anything?

I'll give you a good reason why it does.

I'm a witch.

How did I find out?

I got a letter from Hogwarts, that's how.

But the messed up part?

I'm American, not British.

So you're probably wondering, why are you going to Hogwarts when there are plenty of schools in America that educate wizards?

Simple.

I'm nothing but trouble. I used to get into so much mischief, and apparently these wizard people knew this.

And my parents wanted me out of the house. To be blunt, they are tired of me.

Honestly, what is wrong with _me_? I'm just a troubled adolescent trying to express herself!

I think they love my stupid muggle brother more than they love me.

Yes, I have a brother. His name is Walter.

Unfortunately, we're twins…but no one would ever know it from looking at us.

He has a blond afro, and I recently dyed my hair hot pink and gelled it up into a Mohawk (it's actually a poof, but I just pretend it's a Mohawk). I also had several peircings. Two on my left eyebrow, a lip ring, a tongue piercing, and a nose ring. I must have had three pairs of gauged holes in my ears too, but who really cared?

We were quite the pair. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother to death, but I also feel that my parents favor him over me.

I don't understand why. Walter is the biggest spaz of all time. He can trip over flat surfaces, he's crashed three of my parent's cars, and he always leaves the house with a comb stuck in his hair (he doesn't know it until he comes home from school).

What else?

He's a clean freak! I can't friggin stand him when he's cleaning everything he sees.

I think he as OCD, but my parents (who are child psychologists) firmly believe he is just expressing himself and pursuing his interests.

What a bunch of bullcrap!

So anyways, it was the end of summer and I was going into my seventh and final year at Hogwarts.

Once again I would be leaving Brooklyn and going off to jolly old England with all those stuck up jerks!

Well, not all of them were jerks. Unlike here in New York, I actually had friends.

The Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, and the famous Golden Trio.

I was two years ahead of Harry Potter and his friends, but we were all in the same house.

As for Fred and George, I was in the same year as them…as well as another special person.

Okay, it was a guy. But not just any guy…

It was Cedric Diggory.

The same Cedric who almost died in the tri-wizard tournament last year, but was saved by Harry Potter. Rumors flew around that Voldemort had used Avada Kedavra on him, but Harry blocked it with a shield spell, miraculously saving Cedric's life.

And the guy has been grateful to him ever since. Now they're practically best friends (not that Harry doesn't have enough friends) and Cho Chang broke up with him because of that.

So in other words, Cedric is single.

And this year…I was going to go for it.

* * *

The next night I arrived at the King Cross Station in London by myself.

This was how it always was. I would fly over here alone and arrive at the train station by myself.

During my first year, it was different. Professor McGonagall was my guide and brought me to Diagon Alley to get school supplies and bring me to the train station.

But she never told me how to get to platform 9 ¾...

-0-0-0-0-

_I was standing between platforms 9 and 10, completely clueless. I thought for sure someone could've been playing a practical joke on me…_

_Then Cedric came along with his father._

"_Now Cedric, just run right through the barrier when the muggles aren't around, and you'll be on platform 9 ¾ in no time."_

_"Okay dad." _

"_Hey you there, do you need some help too?" _

"_Uh…yes. I don't know how to get to platform 9 ¾."_

_"Just watch Cedric, and you can go in right after him." _

"_Okay." _

_After Cedric went through the barrier, I followed through after him. _

"_Do you want to ride in a car together?" He asked me. "I don't really know anyone here." _

"_Sure," I said taking some of my things with me. _

_That day we sat together in the box car at the end of the train with a few other kids, and got to know each other._

_"So you're from New York, what are you doing here?"_

_"Apparently I have issues and my parents wanted me as far away as possible."_

_"That's too bad. My mother died after I was born." _

"_I'm sorry." I said._

"_It's okay. So, what house do you think you'll end up in?"_

_"They have houses? Is that like those Greek houses or something?"_

_"What?"_

_"Sorry, it's an American muggle thing." _

"_Anyways, our houses are named after the four founders of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." _

"_Wow. That's wacked right there."_

_"Wacked? Is that another American thing?"_

_"Yes. It's another way of saying weird or crazy. Kind of like how they say wicked in Boston."_

_"Wicked?"I_

_t took me a while to explain all the New Yorker things to Cedric, but he seemed to understand once we got off the train. _

-0-0-0-0-

After that, we were separated into different houses and he never spoke to me again. He became Mr. Popular-big man on campus, and I became the weird tomboy from New York that snorts when she laughs.

But there was one thing I had that he didn't have…

Fred and George.

Those two were my best friends in the whole world, and probably better than I was at causing trouble and pulling pranks.

During our third year, I got this crazy idea to prank Cedric, so the three of us ended up sneaking dungbombs into his cauldron during potions class.

It was pretty funny, seeing Snape run out of the room covered in dung, and Cedric trying to get it out of hair.

To this day, I swear that I can get a whiff of it whenever he lights his cauldron during potions class. The best part is that he never found out it was us.

Yeah, we're cool like that.

So now I was sitting between them at the sorting hat ceremony, watching all those scared little first years getting placed into houses, pretty much against their will.

But out of that, we got eighteen new Gryffindors.

"So Sarah, how was your summer?" Fred asked. "Did those extendable ears work out well for you?"

"Yeah, but there was something I discovered."

"What did you discover?" George asked.

"Do not use them on your siblings girlfriends!"

I was curious about what my brother and his girlfriend were talking about…and let's just say it was an interesting conversation."

"Of course not," Fred said. "I really don't want to know what Fleur is doing to poor Bill."

All of us laughed.

"So let's move on to the skiving snack boxes, did they really work?"

"Oh yes they did. The puking pasties got me out of visiting my grandmother in New Jersey."

"So you didn't vomit uncontrollably?" Fred asked.

"Nope. But those nosebleed nougats aren't that great. Walter almost passed out when I gave him one."

"Not good," George said. "Your muggle brother knows?"

"No. He just thought it was some wacked out wizard candy. Walter isn't exactly a genius."

Lee Jordan came over a minute later, and soon all of us were talking about Quidditch.

"So does anyone think Gryffindor will actually win this year?" Lee asked.

"Um…good question," I said. "Wood is gone, so we'll need a new keeper. Angelina definitely has her work cut out for her this year."

"Sarah, you could be keeper."

"Um. No. Do you remember what happened last time I tried to ride a broom?"

"Yeah, you crashed into Cedric."

"Ooooh!" Fred said. "Now that Chang is out of the picture, what do you plan on doing about that?"

I rolled my eyes at his comment, but deep down, I wanted to jump up and down and tell everyone that I was going to win him over this year.

"Uh…maybe I'll get him to help me with my Charms homework…or something…"

Lee laughed.

"Sarah, we all know that you could kick Diggory's butt any day of the week in Charms."

"You don't need to dumb yourself down for him to like you." I turned around and Hermione had joined our conversation.

'Easy for you to say,' I thought. 'Krum was all over you last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ron marries you one day.'

"Speaking of Diggory, here he comes right now," Ginny said.

"What?" I looked up and Cedric was walking by our table, looking as perfect and handsome as ever.

Nearly every girl in the room had their eyes on him. A group of first year girls smiled and waved as he walked by, and they nearly died when he smiled back at them.

That smile of his…I wished that he would smile at _me_ for a change.

Cedric was Head Boy at Hogwarts, which meant not only was he ridiculously popular, but he also had to be a goody-two shoes.

Not like me, the girl who is one of the four class clowns in our year.

Cedric didn't think highly of us. We were the ones giving him the hardest time.

Well…Fred, George and Lee were.

But we were good at not getting caught.

Harry and his friends weren't. Every year they cost our house at least 100 points, but somehow they always redeem themselves by earning back 250 points.

When Cedric walked by me, I instantly looked up at him.

"I hope you four plan on behaving this year…unless you want my house to win the cup this year."

What a bastard! How dare he say that? What makes him think _Hufflepuff _would ever win the house cup? They suck at everything!

It sounded like Helga Hufflepuff got the shaft after the other three houses took the purebloods, brave hearts, and geniuses and put them in their houses. And what was Helga left with?

The rest. But they weren't misfits. Do not get me wrong, the kids in Hufflepuff are nice and all, but they have no chance of winning the house cup.

Not with Gryffindor and Slytherin constantly going at it. Our houses have had a rivalry for over a thousand years, and were weren't going to let some lame badger house take that from us!

"Behaving? What does that mean again, George?"

"I don't know Fred, but I don't think it sounds like fun. Not with Umbridge wanting to run our school."

"Into the ground," I added. Lee laughed and gave me a high five.

Cedric simply looked at us as if we were a bunch of mutated swamp freaks, and simply walked away.

"Harry, how are you…"

"Prick," Lee said. "I'm sorry Sarah, but I really don't know what you see in him."

"Yeah, he's almost as bad as Percy," Ginny said.

"Now, now. I know we don't all approve of Diggory, but he owes all of us after Harry saved his life last year. The very least he could do is take our Sarah on a date."

"Date?" I sunk into my seat. "Who would want to date me?"

"Not even a troll would want you." I turned around, and stupid Draco Malfoy decided to enter our conversation. Standing behind him were his two idiot troll friends, Crabbe and Goyle.

I would rather get a root canal than associate with those three losers. "Get lost twerp!"

"Twerp? You American mudlboods never cease to amaze me. So, you really think that Diggory would want to date you?"

"Ha! How would you like to have more adventures in Goyle's underwear as a ferret? Professor Moody isn't the only one who knows that spell." I wanted to reach for my wand, but I wouldn't want to waste any entertaining magic on him…Not after spending three weeks worth of detentions with Snape.

"Draco! Some stupid girl wants to talk to you," Pansy shouted from afar.

"Well then, duty calls. Diggory may be head boy, but I am still a hot commodity."

He walked away, making sure to bump into a group of second years, and Goyle made sure to knock a Ravenclaw into the table on their way out.

"What a git!" Hermione said. "Honestly, I think the girls would rather kill him than go out with him."

I looked over at the Hufflepuff table, only to see that Cedric was surrounded by pretty girls.

"But he is right…Cedric is never going to look at me…like this." I looked at my reflection on the golden plates.

I was a tomboy.

I didn't look anything like those girls that Cedric was paying attention to.

I sighed and simply watched as Ron and Hermione (the new prefects) showed them to the Gryffindor dormitory on the seventh floor.

This was going to be a very long year…

* * *

Well, what did you think? Whatever it is, feel free to include it in a review. Don't be shy...we both know you want to review. :)


	2. That's What He Said

**Chapter Two: That's What He Said**

**A/N: The quote comes from facbook (flair!) Sarah's 4th grade teacher from the muggle world is actually based on one of my teachers...and well, that's it really. **

**Have fun reading, and please review. (I know you're not _that_ lazy.) **

* * *

The first week of school sucked! All my professors lectured us on our N.E.W.T exams, and what not--telling us how important it was to do our best and get good marks.

I really wasn't looking forward to any more exams, even though I did well. Fred and George…not so much. Their brother Ron was guaranteed to do better on his O.W.L.s better than they ever did.

Even though they were pranksters, they were very good at magic. When Harry gave them his gold after winning the triwizard tournament last year, they've been making plans to start their very own joke shop.

And I was game.I wanted to help them out, so last summer I took home some of the products and tested them myself, and on my brother.

My first class was potions.

I loved the subject, but hated the person who taught it.

_Severus Snape._

He had to be the biggest asshole of all time, especially to Gryffindors. During our earlier years as students, all students had him. But after fifth year exams, only twelve people our class made it to advanced potions.

Cedric was in my class.

"Turn your books to page 438," Snape droned. "That is where you'll find the draught of disillusion. Now, who can tell me what is the main ingredient that is contained within this potion…"

I knew what it was, moonstone. It caused a drowsiness and made the drinker completely out of it. But before I could answer, Clarice McPherson already had her hand up.

"Yes, answer already."

"Well, for one thing, moonstone would make the drinker forget."

"Wrong," Snape said. "Five points from Ravenclaw. Would anyone like to give a correct answer?" I raised my hand.

"Nelson. I suppose you would know?"

"Moonstone induces a state of drowsiness and sends the drinker into a semi-euphoric state."

"Correct. Now then, I would like you to make this potion. If you, by chance happen to brew it correctly, then you will receive an O for outstanding. But if some of you…" he said looking at a few students in the back "Decide to fool around and blow up my classroom, you will fail miserably and receive a T. Now…begin."

I got up to the storage cabinet and began taking ingredients out, having already read the list before class.

I reached for the jar of wormwood, when I bumped into someone.

"Sorry." I looked over, and Cedric had also been trying to reach for the same jar.

"Uh…" I wanted to say something, but the words just would not come out! Cedric took the wormwood out of the jar, and handed some to me.

"Here," he said. "Thought I would help you out." I wanted to say 'Thank you' but _no_, that wouldn't come out either!

'What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I just talk to him?'

I took the wormwood from him, and began cutting it up at my desk, while waiting for the liquid to come to a boil.

"You seem to be following directions for a change," Snape said rudely as he walked past my desk.

I ignored the old greasy git, and continued stirring the potion in my cauldron.

"How did you get yours to that color?" Lee asked me.

"Stir seven times clockwise, and once counterclockwise."

"Ah, I get it."

"Diggory, you're slipping today."

I looked behind me, and Cedric appeared to be having some trouble with his potion.

'That was weird. Usually he's perfect at everything.'

"I just don't understand, I've done everything the book said to do."

"Did you add the lacewings?" I asked him.

Cedric looked up at me, and I saw a hint of surprise in his gray eyes.

"I almost forgot, thank you," he said as I handed him some of my left over lacewings. For a few seconds, I watched him as he worked on his potion.

"All set?" I asked him.

"I think so. For some reason, I never knew that you were good at potions."

"Sarah, there's smoke coming from your cauldron."

"Crap," I turned around, and my potion was getting close to boiling over. I quickly put out the fire under my cauldron, and let it cool down.

It was okay, I just hoped it passed Snape's ridiculous grading system.

I put some of it into a bottle, sealed it up and put it on Snape's desk.

"You are lucky that you didn't burn your potion. Next time, focus more on potion rather than chatting."

"Yes, sir."

"I want eighteen inches of parchment on the properties of wormwood, which we will be discussing next class."

I nodded, but deep, deep down…I wanted to chuck my potion's book at his greasy head!

After Potions, was Defense Against the Dark Arts…with professor Umbridge.

My first impression of her?

She was a huge bitch. Seriously, I wanted to chuck _all_ of my books at her ugly head. That woman was so bad, she wouldn't even let us use magic in class!

'What the hell kind of class doesn't use magic? She is depriving us of our potential!'

All we did during class was read about basic defense spells that we already learned during our first year.

I think this entire school would be better off if Harry taught the class. That kid knew how to conjure a full patronus charm during his third year, and summoned a Firebolt broom to face a dragon. He was awesome, and I wished that Harry Potter was my brother, instead of Mr. Happy-Compulsive.

Like me, he grew up in the muggle world and had no idea he was a wizard until his 11th birthday, not to mention he was the black sheep of the family as well.

'I bet I could use him to get Cedric,' I thought. Cedric and Harry were good friends now, and Harry was good at helping others…whether he wanted to or not.

So, after that snooze fest, I went to Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was a strict teacher, but also my favorite. If it wasn't for her, I would never had made it through my first year of Hogwarts.

I was grateful for everything she had done for me in the past. She was like a third parent to me sometimes, always checking up on me and making sure I was doing well in class.

I did well, but she didn't like how I was goofing around with Fred and George all the time.

In class we learned how to change chairs into squirrels.

Yeah, I know, I don't get it either.

Out of all of us in the class, I think only Cedric was able to turn his chair into an actual squirrel.

'Hermione would be jealous,' I thought.

My squirrel looked pitiful. He had the body and head, but his legs were still wooden, and his tall was still the back of the chair, which caused him to fall over and cry in pain.

I _almost_ felt sorry for it.

McGonagall turned all our demented looking squirrels back into chairs and told us to practice tonight for homework.

I also had Herbology that day, which dragged on so slowly.

But yet again, Cedric was in my class.

How in the hell did that happen again? Maybe it happened because I got almost as many O's as he did in my O.W.L's, and by chance we ended up taking the same classes?

I would never know, but I was happy regardless.

What made this class better was the fact that Fred and George were here with me.

Herbology was probably the one class besides Charms where they actually passed with a decent grade. I'm just surprised Professor Sprout even let them in after all the stunts they pulled last year when they stuffed filibuster fireworks into all the plant pots. The room was caked with dirt, and I remember Professor Sprout was completely covered in soil.

As funny as it was, Fred and George got detention and got 20 points taken from Gryffindor.

Today we pruned Devil's Snare, one of the worst jobs ever. They kept growing back and my arms were all scratched by the end of class.

My fifth class of the day was Ancient Runes, and that wasn't so bad. I actually liked translating things, and if I wasn't offered a job with Fred and George, I would work in Egypt translating magical texts.

Finally at the end of the day, we went to Charms with Professor Flitwick. In class we learned several cleaning charms that we could use at home.

"And I would also like two feet of parchment on the improper use of cleaning charms," he said getting down from his stool.

"Finally, I was getting so tired," I said lugging my bag out of class.

"Tell me about it," Fred said. "I can't believe how much homework we already have."

"At this rate we won't have time for some fun," George said grinning ear to ear.

"We will in October," I said. "The first Hogsmeade visit is at the beginning of October."

"Perfect," George said. "That'll give us the chance to go into Zonko's joke shop and stock up on a few things."

"And maybe we can set you up with _Cedric_," Fred added. "I hear he likes a good butterbeer. You two could share one."

"Once he's a little tipsy, he'll be snogging you in an instant."

The twins started laughing, and I just wanted to die of embarrassment. They were always saying things like that, especially in the common room in front of _everyone_.

* * *

After doing _some_ homework in the common room, everyone went down for supper. I was starving and I couldn't wait to get my fork into one of those roasts.

I sat down and anxiously started eating, gravy dripping down my chin, snorting noises coming from my mouth, and burping after I finished.

"Um…Sarah?" I stopped.

I knew that voice, and slowly turned around to face the owner of that voice.

"Hi…" I said wiping the gravy from my chin.

Cedric sat down next to me.

"Uh…I was wondering if…"

"Yes…go on…ask me out! You know you want to."

"Maybe you could…can you tell me where Harry is having everyone meet to learn defensive spells? I heard a rumor going around that they were having a meeting."

Oh cruel fate, why do you always have to go and crush my hopes and dreams?

Whatever. I would have to try another tactic.

Harry and his friends wanted to teach us how to do magic the right way, so I would go to this meeting too and see what the buzz was all about.

* * *

"Why are we in the Hog's Head again?" I asked Lee.

"Because Harry told us to come here?"

I sighed and took a seat at one of the dusty old tables. This place was kind of gross, kind of like those sports bars in New York where it's full of old men watching baseball or football.

Harry Potter got our attention and began telling us about his plan for all of us to learn defense against Vold--_you-know-who_. I still can't say his name. But my stupid brother says it all the time just to annoy me. I'm surprised that he doesn't show up and kill Walter just for saying it!

"What are we calling this group?" one kid shouted from the back of the room.

"Um…how about…Dumbledore's Army.?

"I like it," Neville Longbottom said.

"Then we are Dumbledore's Army." Everyone cheered and signed the piece of parchment that Hermione had set up.

* * *

After the first D.A. meeting, I found Cedric walking towards the Three Broomsticks.

'Butterbeer…' I thought. It wasn't a strong drink, but if you had enough you could get pretty drunk--only if you really wanted to.

'For him it would probably take six or seven glasses at least. Probably a dozen for that fat kid in Slytherin that keeps pointing his wand at me in Transfiguration.'

I decided, why not follow him in and have a butterbeer as well? Maybe chat a little bit, and possibly…ask him out?

Something, anything. Just as long as I got him interested. That was my ultimate goal.

Cedric got a drink and sat down by himself near the window, and for once, he wasn't surrounded by annoying girls. At school he would always have a pack of fan girls following him around all day long.

He probably found it annoying as hell, because he usually pretended to read a book when that would happen.

For once, he was probably happy not to have a ton of girls all over him.

I got a drink and took a deep breath.

'You're just going over to talk to him. No big deal…right?'

I sucked it up, and approached his table.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked.

"Not at all," he said. I sat across from him, and watched him stare out the window.

Even though he was just a regular wizard, he was still nice to look at. I loved his dark hair and the way it stood out against his fair skin and dazzling gray eyes. And he was one of the few guys I knew that had a nice profile, with a straight nose.

The girls in New York would rate him as a nine or a ten on the hotness scale.

'He's no ten…he's an eleven.'

"So what did you think of that meeting?" I asked him.

"It sounds loads better than Umbridge's lectures. I don't know why they hired her, but my hope is she'll be out by the end of the year."

"Yeah, I know. I can't stand her. She's worse than my fourth grade teacher."

"Really? Could anyone really be worse than Umbridge?"

"Well, she once told us that we'll never amount to anything more than janitors, she made a kid cry, and one kid hated her so much he ran out of the school and into the parking lot. And this woman was in shape. She ran in the Boston Marathon, and went right after him."

"Did she catch him?"

"Yes. He got into serious trouble after that. I was just so happy that he moved. He was like a miniature Malfoy."

Cedric winced.

"Just be glad you don't have to work with him."

"Oh yeah, he's a prefect…ugh…that sucks."

"Well, he may be nasty, but he has to listen to me. And if he doesn't, he has to answer to Dumbledore."

"That's pretty sweet right there. Hey, I was wondering…uh…"

Just when I was about to get the words out, some girl runs in and sees Cedric.

"Oh Merlin! It's Cedric! Girls, he's in here!"

"Sorry, gotta run," he said getting up. "But you can tag along if you like."

I got up and both of us ran out of the Three Broomsticks and down the street. The fan girls were merciless in their ways, but they ended up getting stopped by Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape.

While those girls got a good yelling at, Cedric and I ran towards the Shrieking Shack.

'Good move, they wouldn't dare go near that place.'

When Hogsmeade was far away, we stopped to rest.

"That was quite the adventure," he said catching his breath.

"Yeah. That was kind of fun. But next time, I'll just throw a couple of things at them."

"I hope those aren't dungbombs," he said.

"Uh…no. I don't keep those on me. I wouldn't want to get caught and kill Gryffindor's chance of winning the house cup again."

"The only reason your house has won the past four years is because of Harry."

"Doesn't matter. Soon it's going to be five. Besides, Hufflepuff hasn't won in three centuries, and we all know that."

"Ah well, the Quidditch cup is still as good as ours."

"No way. Not with Smith as your chaser," I said taking a step forward, as if I was trying to scare him.

"Like your team is better. You lost your keeper."

"True, but we've got a better one."

"Ron Weasley?" he said sighing. "Please. Our team is going to kill you guys this year."

"What are you, the Red Sox? Because your team is always going to suck."

"You lost me there, but there is no way we are going to loose to your team this year."

I rolled my eyes, and pretty soon both of us were laughing.

It may have sounded totally crazy, but I was having fun talking to him. And there was never anything wrong with some healthy competition.

At the end of the day we walked back to the school together, still laughing about something stupid.

"Wow, that was fun," I said.

"I honestly haven't had that much fun in ages."

"Maybe we could do this again sometime?"

"Yeah. Hey listen, I'm staying for the holidays. Maybe we could hang out then?"

"That would be awesome," I said.

"I'll see you around."

"Later," he said heading back to the Hufflepuff common room.

It was a date.

Really? A date?

No…not really. It was simply hanging with him.

But did he really want to hang out with me?

I was dressed in baggy pants, a black sweatshirt, and sneakers.

I looked like a freaking boy!

And it didn't help that my hot pink hair was in a mess as usual.

Well…I suppose I could use a makeover.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it. And if you review, I'll get another chapter out sooner. :)


	3. You Can't Be Serious!

**Chapter Three: You Can't Be Serious!**

**A/N: Here's another chapter, have fun!**

* * *

Cedric and I didn't speak again after that weekend in Hogsmeade. Yeah, I was bummed about it, but I knew that we would be able to spend some time together during Christmas break anyways.

So while I eagerly waited for Christmas, I still had classes and the D.A. to worry about, along with helping Fred and George with starting their Joke shop.

"So what are you going to call it?" I asked during breakfast.

"Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes," said George.

"Why worry about You-know-who, when you should worry about You-no-poo?" Fred added.

"You no poo? Is that another concoction of yours?"

"It relieves constipation--"

"And I think we should give some to Snape as a present, right Fred?"

"You two…are idiots," I said sighing.

"But we're _you're_ idiots!" George exclaimed. The twins soon locked me into a bone-crushing hug, and somehow my vision was brought over to the Ravenclaw table, where Cho Chang was giving me a very dirty look.

'Did she see me talking to Cedric?'

Possibly. Oh well, she's just mad because he dumped her. No biggie, right?I thought that until she gave me the 'I'm watching you' look, complete with the pointing of the eyes back and forth from her to me.

'Bitch,' I thought.

"Sarah, why is Cho Chang giving you a nasty look?" Fred asked letting me go.

"I didn't tell you this, but Cedric and I hung out at Hogsmeade over the weekend."

"You did? Well then, that explains why we couldn't find you. So, what did you talk about?"

"How Gryffindor is better than Hufflepuff, and how Hufflepuff sucks more than the Boston Red Sox. But he still doesn't agree with me."

"Cho must have seen you two and got the wrong impression then?" George asked as he took played with the bacon on his plate.

"It was exactly the impression I was trying to give off. I want her to be pissed off and jealous, because she was a lousy girlfriend to Cedric. I've liked him since first year, and she only liked him because he asked her to the Yule Ball."

"Yeah, but we had fun didn't we?" George asked.

Last year, me and the Weasley twins went as a group dressed in men's robes. Well, I was wearing a skirt, but it was rather butch looking compared to all those frilly little dresses (or Ron's dress robes) that they all wore. And Cedric _did_ notice me…but he thought I was a friggin boy until he saw I was wearing a mini skirt.

This year wouldn't be like that.

This Christmas, I was going to blow him away…

But not with this poof I pretended was a Mohawk, or the silver nose ring that resembled that of a bull.

I needed…

* * *

"A makeover? Sure, I can help you."

I was now sitting in my room, along with Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

They were crazy to agreeing to this, but I _really_ needed their help.

"Well, let's start with the peircings," Alicia said. "I don't think Cedric likes the collection of rings you have on your face."

"Or the large holes in your ears."

"I can switch to smaller gauges," I said taking out the red spikes and black rings, "It's no big deal."

"Sorry Sarah, but the rings have got to go."

"All right."

I took out all the peircings on my face, except my tongue. That one stayed.

"I'm still keeping the one in my tongue."

"That's fine," Alicia said. "Angelina, do you know any spells for styling hair?"

"Yes, I've got a whole book on them that I borrowed from Katie." Angelina eagerly opened up the book, and began looking for spells to change my hair.

"What are you thinking?" Alicia asked her.

"Well…I think we could do better than the pink poof. Sarah, what's your natural hair color again?"

"Blonde…" I said sighing. I don't know what they were trying to do. I changed my hair so I wouldn't look like my idiot brother, or anyone else for that matter.

"Look, I'll do whatever you guys want, but you are not changing the color of my hair, understand?"

"Uh…alright," Alicia said. "I've got a spell ready." She took out her wand, and pointed at my hair, and flicked her wrist while mentally saying a spell.

In an instant, my hair changed back to the hair I was born with: Chin length, thin, and blonde.

Ugh…

"Well…we don't have much to work with," Alicia said. "But we can give you more hair."

She performed another spell that made my hair longer and thicker.

"Now were getting somewhere," Angelina said.

"You're forgetting the pink," I said.

"Sorry," Angelina said. She did a spell that added pink streaks to my hair. "Want to see now?"

"Uh…no, I really don't want to."

"Good. Because we still have to do your make-up too."

'This is really going to suck…'

About an hour later Angelina and Alicia were finally finished with giving me a makeover.

But before they would even let me see myself, they decided that the _entire_ Gryffindor common room also had to see.

Humiliation…just what I needed!

"Ladies, gentlemen, and Weasleys…meet the new _and_ improved…Sarah Nelson!"

Angelina and Alicia cheered, and the entire room began clapping when I came down the stairs.

Fred and George's jaws nearly dropped when they saw me, and Neville practically fainted.

Merlin…they made me hideous, didn't they?

"Wow Sarah, you look great," Ginny said smiling.

"You should really see yourself now!" Hermione said handing me a mirror.

I reluctantly took the mirror from her, and I was shocked at what I saw.

Looking back at me was a really, pretty green-eyed girl with pink and blonde hair, her face void of any metal, and replaced with makeup.

'Who the hell is that? Is that even me?'

Was this the girl that was hiding underneath all those peircings and hot pink hair?

Well…if Cedric didn't really notice me before, he would definitely notice me now.

But in a good way.

"Sarah, remember to sit up straight," Ginny said.

"Don't burp or fart at the table," Hermione added.

"Do not scratch any unmentionable places," Ron said.

"Don't talk with your mouth full like Ron," said Harry.

"And please, if you are going to have sex with Cedric, please use protection--" Fred said.

"Otherwise risk having to explain to Madame Pomfrey why you have an STD," George finished.

Ew. Those two had the dirtiest minds…Cedric didn't have an STD. Otherwise the whole school would've already known.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Relax, we're just hanging out together."

"In the Room of Requirement," George said.

"About that," Harry said. "Don't let anyone see you enter or leave the room. Umbridge is on to us, and I don't want her finding out about the D.A."

"Harry's right," said Hermione. "Do try to keep it a secret."

"I just hope they don't leave a mess for us to clean up," Ron said nervously.

"Will you all just shut your traps and let me go already?" I said putting my hands on my hips. "You all have _nothing_ to worry about."

I left the Gryffindor common room, a bit annoyed at my friends.

"Wow, I have never seen you before. How did you get in?"

I turned around, and the fat lady was talking to me.

"It's me, Sarah. Remember?"

"Oh, Sarah! I didn't even recognize you. Well good riddens you got rid of all those silver things in your face."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with the head boy."

I heard the fat lady portrait mutter something else, but I wasn't paying attention.

'I can't wait to see the look on Cedric's face!'

I walked down to the other part of the seventh floor and could smell something…odd.

It could've been incense. Professor Trelawney is always burning that crap. It kind of smelled like that weird stuff those gangs down on the corner used to smoke in New York.

"Help! My classroom is on fire!"

Crap! Her room is on _fire_?

My date with Cedric would have to wait. And as much as I despised Trelawney, I couldn't just leave her like that. I quickly ran up the stairs and to the ladder and climbed up to her room.

"Thank goodness, the fates sent someone to help me! Help me put this fire out!"

I acted quickly.

"Aquamenti!" I shouted. A huge burst of water spat out of my wand and put out the fire. Well…it wasn't that big of a fire. It turns out she was trying to light more incense when it accidentally came in contact with her curtains and caught on fire.

"Thank you so much," Trelawney said.

"Um…you're welcome," I said. "As a repayment, I will give you ten points to Gryffindor."

Sweet. Just sweet.

After my heroic act of bravery that I wished Cedric could've seen, I went to the room of requirement.

I opened the large doors and went in to find a really fancy dining room and a set of large comfortable couches.

You know what else I found?

Cedric was sitting there, his arms crossed.

"What? I'm sorry I'm late. There was a fire in Professor Trelawney's room. I couldn't just leave the old bat there."

"A likely story," he said. "Let me guess, you came back to throw more insults at me?"

"Cedric, what are you talking about?"

He got up, and stood before me, reminding me of how short I was.

Thanks, but no thanks. Walter already reminds me on a daily basis.

"Sarah, just go. It isn't going to work out. I can't have someone insulting me."

"I don't even know what I said!"

Cedric sighed and simply handed me a piece of paper, covered with obscenities and words _I _wouldn't eve use!

"Cedric I never even said those words."

"Yes you did. Now leave. I don't want to speak to you again."

"Fine…" I wanted to say something after that, but I felt no need to. He was already pissed off for no reason, and now I my chances of being with him were completely ruined by that stupid Cho Chang!

Who else could it be? Only _she_ would go to desperate measures to try and get Cedric to hate me.

Figures…if she couldn't be with Cedric, then no one else could.

I walked down the hall, and hid myself in a broom closet and began to cry.

Yeah. Sarah the tomboy was crying in a broom closet. So what?

I couldn't cry in front of Cedric, or any of my friends.

Tears began pouring down my face, my eyeliner bleeding and creating black tears.

'This is the worst day of my life!'

"So…how did the date go?" Fred asked raising his eyebrows.

"Is there a big mess in the room of requirement?" Ron asked. "I really hope there isn't."

I sighed and walked past them, and headed up to the girl's dormitory.

"Sarah, did something bad happen?" Fred asked.

I stopped halfway up the stairs and turned around to face them.

"I really don't want to talk about it, just leave me alone!"

I stormed up the stairs, ran to my bed and lay on my stomach. My face was buried in my pillow, and I started to cry again.

All through January I was not in a good mood. I was so depressed, and gloomy.

Not to mention those words from Cedric still hurt like a knife.

During class and the D.A. meetings, I could hardly look at him.

To make things even worse, Dumbledore was forced to let Umbridge make all our lives a living hell.

"Educational Decree Number Twenty: The Quibbler is Banned from Hogwarts."

Poor Luna Lovegood was almost as miserable as I was when she found out her father's magazine had been banned from Hogwarts.

That old toad only did it because of Rita Skeeter's interview with Harry. The ministry just doesn't want to admit that You-know-who has returned.

I believed Harry. And so did the entire D.A. We would all support him no matter what the world thought of him.

On to other matters…

* * *

I changed my hair back, as well as put all my face peircings back where they belonged.

But I did take Angelina and Alicia's advice on the whole make up thing.

And to be honest…I didn't look that bad.

Moving on…

With Umbridge being a mega bitch, Cedric not speaking to me, and Cho acting more smug than usual, I needed a laugh.

That's what I had Fred and George for. Those two could cheer anyone up.

One day after class, I decided to spill. I told them everything.

"So Cho basically ruined your chance with him--" said Fred.

"I never thought she would stoop so low," George added.

"Or make such a spectacular polyjuice potion."

"It doesn't matter how Cho did it. The point is, I need you guys to help me convince Cedric that it wasn't me."

"Hm…that's a tough one. But I have an idea," George began.

"We could mess with Cho and get her to spill the truth--"

"In front of Cedric. Then he'll know that it was her, and not you--"

"And he'll be snogging you in no time."

"Great…" I said. "When should we do this?"

"Well," Fred began "We're in the middle of plotting the biggest joke ever."

"I'm interested. What kind of joke?"

"We've got a plan to drive Umbridge so crazy that she'll want to leave Hogwarts for good," said George. "But we're going to do it in the spring when we have better access to everything."

"Yeah, it's pretty hard to sprint across the castle grounds when there's three feet of snow."

"But we will tell you know that Lee is hiding our secret stash of fireworks in the boathouse," George whispered.

Hm…_fireworks_…it would be so much fun.

"Now onto Cedric matters," Fred said. "First, we're going to need a trap. Like say…a quaffle covered in love potion. The aroma will distract him, and then we can drop a cage on him."

My first reaction was…what the hell kind of idea was that?

"Fred. That's stupid. Besides, Ellen Degeneres already tried that on George Clooney and it didn't work."

"Who? Is that some muggle?"

"Yes. My point is, we need to get Cho to confess."

"Oh, that's easy then," George said. "We'll just slip some veritaserum into her drink during the next D.A. meeting."

"Perfect. But if you give her the drink, she's going to suspect something."

"Let's have Harry give her the drink. She'll never suspect him," Fred said. "He's the one who has a crush on her."

"I don't even know what he sees in her," I said sighing.

Oh well…

The next D.A. meeting would be in February…

Right around Valentine's Day…ugh!

* * *

Well, there's one more chapter after this. Thanks for reading and please feel free to _review_. Just hit the button at the bottom of the page...please?


	4. Recipe For Disaster

**Chapter Four: Recipe For Disaster**

**A/N: Sorry for not updating recently, I've been too busy with other stories. I was going to end the story at four chapters, but I've changed my mind. Expect two or three more chapters for this story before it's over. Enjoy. :)**

* * *

On Valentine's day, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for the day. I knew that everyone would be walking around all coupled up and everything.

And I would just be the pink haired freak sitting in between the Weasley twins.

I was tired of waiting for Fred and George to help me with our action plan.

_Operation Diggory. _

I knew that they wouldn't be studying for their N.E.W.T.s, because why in the heck would they ever do that? Studying was the last thing on their minds, despite how much their parents pushed them to measure up to their older brothers.

It was possible that the twins were far too busy planning for their end of the year prank instead of helping me. But for all I knew, they could be plotting to make Cho look stupid without my knowing. They were usually secretive about things like that.

I was walking down the fifth floor corridor to class like I always have, when I accidentally bumped into Cedric, nearly knocking him over.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

Oops.

When I had said that, I didn't realize that I had bumped into Cedric. I thought it was just a regular annoying Hufflepuff boy…but _no_.

It was Cedric.

He looked up at me, a hint of a glare clouding his stormy gray eyes.

"Sorry…" I muttered.

Cedric got up, his eyes still slightly narrowed at me.

'He's probably still pissed at what I supposedly did.'

"Whatever," he said walking past me.

"Cedric! Wait up!" I turned around, and a whole crowd of fan girls had begun to follow him once again, one of them holding up a sign that said, "Cedric I'm pregnant" on it.

There hadn't been a single day since Christmas that Cedric hadn't been seen without a group of psychotic girls following him everywhere he went.

"Ew," one of them said looking at me. I flicked her off, and she gasped.

"What? Never got flicked off before?" I said.

"You bitch!" she was going to take out her wand, but I saw a couple Slytherins walking by, with those ridiculous Inquisitorial Squad badges on their robes. The girl quickly put her wand away, and chased after the group of fan girls that were still chasing after Cedric.

'Could girls these days get any dumber?' I thought. I picked up my book and went to my next class.

"We have a D.A. meeting tonight," Harry said. "I just thought I would remind you."

"Thanks Harry," I said picking up my fork.

"Maybe you could tell Fred and George as well?"

"I actually don't know where they are right now," I said "But you could try the boathouse. They have a whole stash of things there."

"Thanks Sarah, I'll go take a look." Harry and Ron got up from the table, and left the Great Hall to find the twins.

"So how is Operation Diggory going?" Lee asked me.

"Shitty," I said. "I knocked him down in the hallway by accident, and I think his fan girls want me to die and burn in hell."

"Forget I asked then."

"Aw, I'm sure he'll come around," Ginny said. "If he doesn't then he's not worth it."

"Thanks Ginny."

So after supper, a couple of us snuck up to the seventh floor, using all the secret passages that were on the grand staircase, in hopes of eluding Umbridge and her Stupid Squad.

When everyone had made it to the room of requirement, Harry had us gather around for another spell that he would be teaching us.

"Okay guys, this week I'm going to teach you the patronus. It'll ward off dementors, then we'll take a break and have some refreshments."

Everyone nodded and went right to work, all of watching in amazement as Harry conjured up a full fledged patronus charm. I found it interesting that it took the form of a stag.

All around the room, I saw people pairing up to work together, and I was surprised that Cedric didn't have a partner.

"Cedric, why don't you and Sarah work together?" Hermione suggested.

Both of us looked at the other, as if we were looking at one of Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts.

Did I mention I hated those things? It was the ultimate reason why I dropped out of the class after sixth year.

Okay, back to the current issue at hand.

Cedric was mad at me, and now we had to partner up and work together. This would be very interesting.

"Uh, you want to go first?" I asked.

"Sure." Cedric took out his wand and sent a spell at me. "Stupefy!"

"Expelliarmus!" I sent his wand flying out of his hand, nearly hitting Colin Creevy in the back of the head.

"Sorry Colin!" I said. Cedric sighed and took his wand back from Colin, and faced me again.

"Rictusempra!" I cried out.

"Protego!" Cedric sent a shield charm that deflected my spell right back at me.

Now I was lying on my back in minor pain.

'Bastard.' He may have been in the triwizard tournament last year, but that didn't make him any better at magic than me.

"I'll show you," I said getting up. I began thinking of the happiest memory I could possibly find, and my happiest one was the day I got a letter from Hogwarts.

"Expecto Patronum!"

I was hoping to get a really cool animal to come out of my wand, but that didn't happen.

"A Chihuahua. Your patronus is a Chihuahua?"

Cedric burst into a fit of laughter, which drew in a lot of attention from everyone else.

"Uh…everyone is staring at us," I said to him. He stopped laughing and looked at me.

"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting that."

"I should kick your ass right now," I said making a fist. Cedric stepped back.

"Um, that's not necessary, really."

"Hey guys, Dobby brought us food!" Neville said. The doors opened, and Harry and the small houself, Dobby entered the room with several trays of food and drinks.

"Food!" Everyone ran like a bunch of idiots over to Harry and Dobby, grabbing all the food and drinks off the plates the moment they were set down on one of the tables.

"Here Cho, would you like some pumpkin juice?" Harry asked handing her a glass.

"Thank you Harry, don't mind if I do." Cho drank the glass of pumpkin juice, and I was praying that it was the right glass.

"So does anyone know who started the fire in Trelawney's room?" I asked out loud.

No one answered. Not eve Cho.

Then I realized that we had given her the wrong glass. Suddenly Luna Lovegood began chanting about how she had a huge crush on Neville Longbottom and that she wanted to have his babies…and something about a crumpled-horn snorkack, or nargles. I honestly didn't care.

My plan had pretty much failed, Cedric thought I was an idiot, and poor Neville was running away from Luna.

'Why can't things just go right for once, damn it!"

* * *

"What happened?" I asked Harry in the common room. "I thought you were going to help me."

"I tried, but Luna wanted her glass."

"Why?"

"Because she wanted to taste it for trilly-finned gippers, or something."

"Okay, so the plan didn't go how we wanted," Fred said. "We can't loose all hope yet."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Just leave everything to us," said George.

"The last time I left everything to you, my brother ended up with a rash on his you-know-where."

"It was his fault," George argued. "He shouldn't have drank that potion for our skiving snackboxes."

"Sarah, I know we've done some pretty stupid things--"

"Very stupid," Fred added.

"But please, just this once…trust us."

"We won't let you down, and when were done, Cedric will be all over you."

Nothing else had worked. So I figured…why not? Why not let these two…um…friends lend me a hand?

"Alright, but if you guys screw up--"

"Then we will eat dungbombs," Fred finished.

"What? I'm not agreeing to that!" George said.

"I will dye your hair pink," I said.

"Eh…good enough," said the twins cringing in slight disgust.

* * *

The following week was hell. And no, I don't mean how Montague kept splattering ink onto my hair.

No, it was much worse."Miss Hogwarts? Are you out of your freakin' mind?" I shouted.

"You said you needed our help," said George.

"And this would be the perfect opportunity to not only impress Cedric, but everyone else too."

"You two are idiots! There is no way I am dressing up like some prissy chick and pretending to be something I'm not."

"But don't you still want Cedric?" Fred asked.

I sighed. I really did. But not like this!

So far nothing else has worked, so I figured. Why not?

"Alright, I'll do it."

I think pageants are stupid, really. I know because my mother used to make me do them when I was little.

When I was three, she would put me in ridiculous outfits, put makeup and fake hairpieces on me, and train me to act like a pageant girl is supposed to act.

When I was six, I had enough of that. I pretty much screamed at her and told her "I was done with all this bullshit." And so, I started dressing like a boy and rolling around in the mud outside with my brother.

* * *

That Friday after class, all the girls competing in the Miss Hogwarts contest showed up in Professor McGonagall's room.

And boy, they were not expecting me to show up. All the girls gave one look at me and turned their noses upwards.

"Welcome ladies. I'm very glad to see that all of you are interested in becoming Miss Hogwarts. Every five years we hold this contest, and have the students choose who best represents Hogwarts. Not only is Miss Hogwarts beautiful, but she is intelligent, kind, and is a role model to younger students. The competition is simple really. There are three portions to the contest: beauty, talent, and then a speech. Once each girl has finished, the staff will choose the top three girls for the students to vote for."

"When will we find out who wins?" asked a Hufflepuff fifth year.

"At the spring ball the next evening. The winner will be crowned, and she will get to dance with the Hogwarts champion."

"But professor, there's two," a Ravenclaw seventh year said.

"Well, you can choose between Harry Potter or Cedric Diggory. Any more questions?"

As soon as Professor McGonagall asked, no one person raised their hand.

"Good," she said. "Now, I would like each of you to come up and tell me why you should be in the contest."

"What do you mean?" asked a Slytherin. "Aren't all of us going to be in it?"

"There are only fifteen spots," she answered. "And there are forty of you. That means more than half of you won't be competing."

A lot of girls groaned, and I was practically relieved. The odds weren't in my favor and I wouldn't have to disgrace myself in front of the entire school.

'Then there would be no way I'd ever have a snowball's chance in hell of winning Cedric back.'

One by one, each girl went up to McGonagall and the other heads of the houses to explain why they should be in the pageant.

I waited in line and sighed, wondering if they would even consider me.

McGonagall was the head of my house, and I knew she'd be rooting for me.

Flitwick liked me too, especially since I had an "O" in his class.

Professor Sprout didn't like that I was friends with the twins, but she did like the effort I put into all my assignments.

Then there was Snape. He did not like me at all, especially with all the stunts I've pulled in his class. Most of them being dropping bottles, putting dungbombs in Cedric's cauldron, and accidentally shrinking Snape's head when I was trying to fling it at one of the Slytherins for calling me a mudblood.

Now it was in their hands to decide if I was worthy.

"Sarah Nelson…please explain why you should be in this contest," Snape said sourly.

"Well sir, I deserve to be in this contest, because it's about time Miss Hogwarts be a real, genuine girl that's unique. I mean, aren't you tired of seeing the same girls winning? I would be a breath of fresh air for this school if you gave me this opportunity."

Everyone stared at me, and McGonagall nodded.

"Thank you Sarah. Next girl, please."

I watched as other girls each talk to the judges, including Cho Chang and Pansy Parkinson.

I highly doubt that they would let Pansy in at all, but Cho was bound to get in. Unlike me, she was actually pretty.

After the house heads spoke with each girl, they posted a list outside the Great Hall of the fifteen girls that would be in the contest.

"Sarah, just go and see," said Lee. "It can't be that bad."

"No. I can't."

"I'll go see," said George. He managed to weave through the thick crowd of girls, and came back a few minutes later.

"Sarah…I'm sorry but…you're in the contest!"

"I am? Are you freakin' serious?"

"You mean to tell me that you got in and Pansy didn't?" Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stood behind us. Instinctively, all of us turned around to face him.

"Well Malfoy, I've obviously got more heart for this than Parkinson."

"You're uglier than a troll, why would the judges let you compete?" Pansy shot back.

"Unlike you, people actually like Sarah for who she is. Pansy is an ugly person inside and out," said Lee.

"Not even all the magic in the world could fix her," said Fred.

"Well said," George added.

"You definitely don't have Slytherin's support," Malfoy said.

"I don't need your support to win," I said. "So buzz off."

The Slytherins left and I sighed with relief.

"Malfoy giving you trouble again?" Hermione asked.

"Like always. Pansy is pissed off that I got into the contest and she didn't.

"She doesn't deserve it," Hermione said. "But you do."

"Thanks Hermione."

"But…if you want to win…you're going to need help from all of us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, you're going to have to become…a lady."

Crap. This really sucks…but I was game.

* * *

Hope you liked it. Please review (please) and I'll post another chapter sooner.


	5. Act Like a Lady!

**

* * *

**

Chapter Five: Act Like a Lady!

**A/N: Hooray, another chapter is out. Enjoy. **

* * *

So by some sort of miracle, I, Sarah Nelson, would be in the Miss Hogwarts pageant.

'Why did I agree to this again?'

Fred and George Weasley had signed me up without my consent, mainly because all my attempts to get Cedric had failed.

So now, I would have to allow their help.

I woke up on Saturday morning and went downstairs, only to find a note from Professor McGonagall:

_Dear Sarah, _

_Please meet me my classroom after breakfast._

_Minerva McGonagall_

I wondered why she would want to see me on a Saturday? Was she checking up on me to make sure I was doing okay?

During breakfast I told Fred and George about the note.

"You didn't get into trouble?" Fred asked.

"No. Not recently. I haven't had a detention in over a month."

"That's rare," said Ron shoving a mouthful of eggs into his mouth.

"Whatever," I said. "I just hope she's not going to make me do extra homework or something."

"Who knows," said George. "Just don't tell her about the skiving snackboxes."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because the Slytherin Prefects are onto us."

"What about the D.A.?" I asked.

"No one yet," said Harry. "I just don't know how much longer we can keep these meetings up. But if something happens, your galleon will tell you something."

"Thanks," I said. "Well, I better go see what McGonagall wants."

I left the Great Hall, and went upstairs to the Transfiguration courtyard, eventually finding her classroom.

"Good morning Sarah, I trust that you're doing well today."

"Uh yeah. I'm fine."

"You're probably wondering why you're here, am I correct?"

"Well, yeah. I'd like to know why I'm here." Professor McGonagall signaled me to come down the stairs to the center of her empty classroom.

"Have a seat." I sat down in an empty chair, and made one appear out of thin air for her to sit in.

"The reason I have called you here is because I am concerned."

Concerned? I wondered what she was concerned about. Was it my grades? Was I failing transfiguration? Did she find out about Fred and George's plans?

"Sarah, I know how much you want to win this Miss Hogwarts contest. There is so much potential in you, and you would do so well representing our school. But…I thought you could use some help."

That's it? I thought it would be much worse.

"What do you plan on doing to help me?"

"I'm going to turn you into a lady."

"No seriously…what are you going to do to help me?"

"Sarah, don't start with me. If you want to win, the least you could do is let me help you."I sighed.

"Okay."

McGonagall got up.

"First thing is first, we need to work on how you walk. Stand up."

I stood up in my usual stance, and McGonagall began walking around the room.

"We do not slouch, like this," she demonstrated. "Nor do we stomp like a troll."

She turned around and began walking back towards me. "We think tall, hold our heads up high, take smooth strides, and keep our shoulders down."

I tried to do what she just did, but I had no such luck.

"Shoulders down. Come on Sarah, lighter steps, longer strides."

"My legs aren't that long," I reminded her. In fact, I was only five feet tall. Probably the shortest girl in the bunch, but I knew I would stand out that way.

Then she piled several books on my head, and made me practice walking without all the books falling on the floor.

So much for that.

McGonagall sighed with frustration.

"We have a lot more work to do. But in the mean time, do me a favor and take all of those silver things out of your face. Honestly, I don't know why you need those."

I took out my face peircings, and the gauges in my ears as well."All of them," she stated. I took my tongue out.

"Um…I have to go to the bathroom."

"Right now?"

"Um…I have…_other_ peircings I need to take care of."

"Of course. Go right ahead."

I came back after that, and then she showed me how to eat like a lady.

"We do not slurp when we eat, and we do not lick our fingers. Sit up straight, Sarah."

I found myself slouching again, so I propped myself back up, despite the fact that it was uncomfortable.

I even had to relearn how to drink tea, speak and dress like a lady.

But I was miserable at it. I found myself slurping my tea, and chewing with my mouth open.

"Sarah, don't you have any manners?"

I burped in response.

"Sorry professor. Better out than in, right?"

She sighed and probably wondered how she would ever turn me into a lady.

This went on for about a week and a half, and my friends were beginning to notice my new behavior.

* * *

"Why are you walking like that?" George asked.

"Because, I'm supposed to be acting like a lady."

"Wow. McGonagall has really whipped you into shape, hasn't she?" Lee said to me as we passed in our homework to professor Flitwick.

"Yeah…but it's going to be worth it."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cedric and strange enough…

He was looking at me.

'He must notice my hair too.' I began wearing my hair down, not up in its usual poof with a small bun in the back. I had magically made my hair shorter, but recently reversed the spell so it would be long again.

I took it that Cedric was beginning to notice the evident changes. I was not sure if he liked them or not, but he was looking at me more than he usually did.

Sometimes during Potions, I would catch him looking at me from across the room. But as soon as I looked at him for more than a second, he would quickly turn away and act as if he didn't see me.

At the end of the day, I went back to McGonagall for my last lesson before the pageant on Saturday.

Despite my tomboy nature, I had gotten much better at this girly thing.

"You've improved so much in these past two weeks," she said. "But there's one last thing we need to do before the contest."

I wasn't prepared for what was coming next.

"Girls, come on in!" In came a group of witches armed with scissors, brushes, and wands.

I was getting a makeover.

"Where is the girl?" one of the ladies asked.

"Right here," said McGonagall.

All of them cringed when they got a look at me. Although I looked worse before, my hair was a mess, I had no makeup on, and my baggy clothes and dirty sneakers were not exactly Miss Hogwarts material.

"She is like a boy!" another lady cried.

"We must help her!"

"Have fun girls," Professor McGonagall said. "I've got to go to a meeting, let me know when you're done." She left her classroom, and me alone with a bunch of crazy stylists.

Needless to say, it was a nightmare.

They turned the room into a salon, and spent hours fixing my hair, doing my ragged nails, my makeup, and picking out outfits for me to wear.

While I was letting them do my nails, they placed cucumber slices over my eyes.

"Do you know what the slices are for?" one of the witches asked me.

"What?"

"Absolutely nothing. The cucumber does nothing!" Everyone laughed, but I wasn't amused. I thought the slices of cucumber were stupid.

After a long and grueling three hours, McGonagall finally returned.

"Professor, before our darling Sarah came to us…we thought she was a boy. But now…take a look!"

They turned the chair around, and I faced her.

She nearly gasped.

"Well done ladies! I must say Sarah, you look positively lovely now!"

Now I was finally ready.

But I still had one more task to face: facing everyone at school tomorrow.

It was going to be a very long day.

* * *

"Sarah, hurry up," said Katie. "We need to get to breakfast."

"I know, I know. Just let me get my shoes on," I said nearly falling over as I hopped around the room. My stockings were at my ankles, and I was still trying to get them up where they should be.

Finally, I sat down on my bed and finished, and slipped on my shoes.

"Okay, ready," I said when I arrived at the bottom of the stairs from the girl's dormitory.

"About time. Let's go have breakfast."

"Do they have to see me like this?" I said nervously.

"Trust me, you look great. I think you'll be a knock out."

I hoped Katie was right…

The two of us headed down the grand staircase and down to the Great Hall on the first floor. Nearly everyone would be in there eating right now, and all of them would see me.

I followed Katie inside, and the hall became eerily quiet.

Everyone was staring at me.

"They're staring at me," I whispered.

"Just keep walking," she said. As I walked down to the Gryffindor table, I heard whispers coming from the other tables;

"Is that Sarah?"

"Wow, I've never seen her look…so girly."

"I heard she got into the Miss Hogwarts contest."

"Hmph. She isn't that great," I heard Pansy say.

"She might actually be worth dating now," I heard Roger Davies say.

I rolled my eyes at their remarks, and found my seat between Fred and George. The moment I sat down, the hushed whispers became the usual noise and echoed throughout the Great Hall once more.

Even the enchanted ceiling seemed to be in a better mood, the sky a bright and cheery blue with a few fluffy white clouds here and there.

I sat there and sighed.

"I like the new look," said George.

"Thanks," I said. "So what decree number are we up to now?"

"Twenty-three," said Fred. "Trelawney has been sacked.I was nearly rejoicing when I heard that.

"For real?" I asked. "Thank Merlin she's gone."

"I'm just glad we failed our O.W.L.s for that class, right George?"

"Agreed. So are you nervous about trotting around in front of the whole school in a dress?"

"Yes…" I said.

"Well don't look now, but Cedric is coming over."

"What? Are you freaking kidding me?" They both grinned and I had this sudden urge to wack them both upside the heads.

I quickly turned around and indeed, Cedric Diggory was coming towards the Gryffindor table. His black and yellow Hufflepuff tie was perfectly straight, his head boy badge extremely shiny, and his uniform tidy as always.

Two words: totally hot.

I took a deep breath and tried to smile. Isn't that what a girl does, right?

Sadly, Cedric turned left and went towards the staff table to talk to Professor Sprout.

"Damn. So close," I said.

"Cheer up Sarah, tonight is the pageant. He'll see you there," said Ginny reassuringly.

"Who's hosting by the way?" I asked.

"Seamus Finnigan and Colin Creevy."

That would be interesting. Seamus was a goofball, and Colin was an overzealous photographer. They would've asked Lee to do it, but Umbridge wouldn't allow it.

_"Not after last time. He swore like a Cornish pixie last time he comented on the Quidditch match!" she stated._

* * *

For the entire day, I had classmates staring at me, or teacher complimenting me. On one occasion Professor Flitwick almost didn't recognize me when I walked into Charms that afternoon.

"Sarah, I didn't recognize you. You look very nice today," he said in his squeaky voice. "Thanks Professor," I said taking my seat.

I took out my things and doodled on a piece of parchment while I waited for class to begin.

"Sorry I'm late Professor. Someone trapped Montague in a toilet and Umbridge made me get him out," I turned around and Cedric had just entered the classroom.

That made me laugh on the inside. Fred and George probably had something to do with it.

I knew for a fact that last week they fed Mrs. Norris a batch of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, most of them being all the gross ones that no one wanted.

And then she licked Filch's face later that day. He must have loved the blend of vomit, earwax, poop and sauerkraut flavored beans on her breath. It reminds me of the time I did the same thing to Walter, except that he threw up all over his ex-girlfriend.

It was priceless.

While I was giggling silently to myself about Mrs. Norris, I didn't realize that Cedric sat down next to me.

As soon as I realized this, I felt my heart began to race even faster.

'Cedric is sitting next to me! Oh Merlin!'

Professor Flitwick stood on top his stool and began lecturing, everyone taking notes on the vanishing charm.

Class went normally, but things with Cedric went differently. I'm left handed, and he was sitting on my left. And he's right handed.

Our hands kept touching when we were writing notes, my heart racing so fast every time we touched.

"Sorry," he kept whispering. While Flitwick passed out feathers to practice our charms on, Cedric turned to look at me.

"Um…I didn't have a chance to say this before but…you look, really beautiful today."

I held back a blush the moment he said those words.

"Thanks." I felt weird looking like this. Having long wavy hair. It was blonde on top, but pink underneath. I had hoop earrings on, and just a little bit of silver eyeshadow and pink lip-gloss.

'Too bad they make us wear uniforms…otherwise I might've actually worn a dress today.'

"So…are you in that Miss Hogwarts contest tonight?"

"Yeah."

"I wish you luck," he said. I was close to cloud nine right now, so now was my chance to make a move.

We got our feathers from Flitwick and began practicing our charms.

"Cedric?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you really believe it was me that night in the Room of Requirement?"

"After thinking about it for a while…I don't. I'm sorry if I accused you of anything."

"That's okay."

"And I'm sorry for laughing at your patronus."

"Cedric, it's fine," I said. For a few more minutes we kept practicing our charms.

"Sarah?" I turned to look at him.

"Yes?" Cedric was looking directly into my eyes, and I wondered if he felt anything for me. For some reason, I felt deep down he might actually like me. Not for what I look like, but for who I was when we hung out in Hogsmeade earlier this year.

Whatever he was trying to say, it was on the tip of his tongue…but we were interrupted.

"Time for your next assignment," said Flitwick. "I would like you to practice this charm on the feathers, and then on objects. We will be learning the reversal charm on Monday. Have a great weekend."

Everyone quickly left the classroom, and surprisingly, Cedric and I walked out of class together, talking and laughing like we were before.

"So let me get this straight? You gave your brother earwax flavored beans?"

"Yes," I said trying hold back laughter. "He thought they were toffee flavored. The next day he was passing them out to all his friends."

He started laughing as hard as I was. Walter was an idiot.

"Well, I'll see you later," I said. "I have to go get ready for the contest."

"Good luck," he said. I headed up the stairs, and bumped into Cho Chang.

"Oh, sorry," she said.

"That's okay, I was in a hurry."

"I saw you talking to Cedric," she said.

"Yeah, we've been talking."

"He seems to like you," she said.

"Are you okay with that?" I asked her.

"To be honest, I couldn't be happier."

I then realized that it wasn't her that was in the Room of Requirement that day.

"So that wasn't you who set me up during Christmas break?"

"What are you talking about? Was that when Trelawney's room was on fire?"

"Yeah."

"I was home with my parents. Sarah, I broke up with Cedric and I have no intention of getting back together with him. He's all yours."

"Thanks Cho, and I'm sorry for wrongly accusing you earlier."

"It's okay. Hey, good luck in the contest tonight."

"Same to you," I said smiling.

I was glad that things had been cleared up, but why did I suddenly have a bad feeling?

* * *

What is this bad feeling? Find out next time! :)


	6. Psycho Much?

**Chapter Six: Psycho Much?**

**A/N: This story is turning out to be longer than I predicted...but whatever. Enjoy it regardless. :) **

* * *

When I finally made it to my room, Angelina, Katie, Hermione and Ginny were waiting for me.

"It's time," Angelina said. "Girls?" All of them instantly held up their wands and began advancing toward me, as if a group of lions had found their prey.

"Crap."

* * *

After a good hour of struggling and pain, my hair and makeup were done.

"I say we've done well," said Ginny. "You look so nice."

"I agree," said Hermione. "Well, we'll leave you to get dressed."

"Thanks…" I grumbled. I wasn't happy they ambushed me like they did, but I was glad that they helped me out.

When I was finally alone, I realized I didn't have a dress to wear.

"What am I going to do? I can't show up looking like this?" I looked down at my uniform. Yeah, it wasn't bad, but I wore it everyday. And my dress robes wouldn't work well either.

A faint tapping was heard on my window, and I looked to see that a large barn owl was in my window holding a rather large package.

I opened the window, and the owl flew into my room and dropped the package into my lap.

"Thank you," I said giving it a treat. It pecked me on the finger and flew out the window.

I had a feeling this would be my outfit for this evening. What else could it possibly be?

'Please don't be an ugly dress,' I thought as I opened the package.

* * *

"Sarah, come on down!" I heard George call. "We want to see your dress."

I sighed and carefully descended the stairs, being very careful not to fall in my heels.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, all of my friends were in more shock than they were yesterday when I revealed my new look.

My dress was a long pale gold strapless dress with glittery flowers on it, not exactly what I had in mind, but good enough. I was hoping for something black, red or pink (or all three).

"Your dress is so gorgeous," said Katie.

"I'll say," said Fred winking at me. All of us laughed.

Ron and Neville stood there babbling until Hermione hit them both on the back of the heads.

"Snap out of it you two! We've got to go find our seats in the Great Hall downstairs. Good luck Sarah."

"Thanks everyone," I said happily.

"We'll take you to the Great Hall," said George offering his arm. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to you, right?"

"Let's get a cloak on you first," said Fred placing a long maroon cloak over my shoulders.

"Good thinking," I said. "I don't want anyone else to see my dress until the contest."

"And we wouldn't want all those boys chasing after you," George added.

That was also a good point. Fred and George saw me as a little sister that they wanted to protect, especially from those dirty Slytherins.

But also, I wanted to surprise Cedric. He has never seen me in a proper dress before, and I couldn't wait to see his reaction.

I followed the twins down to the Great Hall, and found that all the other girls were waiting in the same room that the first years waited in before they were sorted.

"Best of luck," said George.

"And whatever you do," Fred began,

"Remember to wear double-sided tape," they said in unison.

"What?" I said.

"Your dress is strapless," said Fred. "Something bad could happen, so here."

He handed me a roll of double-sided tape.

"This isn't jinxed…is it?" I asked.

"It's extra sticky," said George. "A little spell we put on it. So far sales have been up."

"You sold this to the other contestants?"

"Of course," said Fred. "We have to appeal to everyone, not just pranksters."

"Good luck Sarah," they both said.

After they left, I fixed my dress. I didn't want another girl stepping on it and letting the whole world see my bra…or no bra.

Yeah…not something I would want everyone to see.

Before we got called out, I decided to run to the bathroom for a minute in an attempt to calm my nerves.

I was so nervous--nervous about the contest, what everyone would think, and of the dance tomorrow night. It was all just overwhelmingly nerve-wracking.

After I was done in the bathroom, I had to wash my hands.

Then I heard a noise.

"Who's there?"

Wherever the noise came from, I simply ignored it.

Not exactly the best thing to do.

Just when I was about to leave, someone grabbed me and knocked me unconscious.

* * *

I was interested in seeing what these girls were wearing tonight. After all, one of them would be dancing with me at the ball tomorrow night. The Great Hall's usual layout had been changed. The staff table was moved off to the side, all the tables had been replaced with rows upon rows of chairs, and at the front of the room was a stage, where the staff table usually resided.

I found a seat in the front row next to my friends.

"Hey Cedric," I sat down next to Roger Davies.

"Hey. Thanks for saving me a seat."

"No problem."

"So Cedric," Roger began, "Is it really true that weird girl from New York is here tonight?"

"Yeah, she is," I said.

All my friends began laughing. Ernie and Zacharias began talking, and for some reason, what they said severely bothered me.

"You mean to tell me that Sarah is actually going to be wearing a dress? Oh! This I have to see now!" Zacharias said laughing.

"Oh Merlin, this is going to be a riot."

"I don't know," said Roger. "I thought she was looking good yesterday."

"You mean that blonde girl was…Sarah?" Ernie asked.

"Who do you think it was?" I said. "Pansy Parkinson?"

"I can't believe your actually defending her?" said Zacharias. "I thought you didn't like her."

"I never said I didn't. We sort of just…drifted apart after our first year."

"Then…do you like her or something?" Roger asked. "Because if you don't, I will be more than happy to have her."

That comment bothered me. I didn't want anyone else with Sarah.

This morning, when she first entered the Great Hall, suddenly all the guys wanted her. Roger wanted to go out with her, and Montague was probably the worst one, telling everyone he was going to get her in his bed tomorrow night. I swore I even heard Malfoy making a dirty comment about her.

"Look Roger, I--"

The lights in the Great Hall began to dim, and professor Umbridge came out in her usual hideous pink robes. Since the beginning of the year, she has been driving all of us insane, and Hagrid just recently got sacked from his job.

She wasn't nice to the prefects either, and she kept giving me extra work as head boy.

'I wonder if a million cats would come flying out of her robes if someone knocked her down,' I thought to myself. If I weren't head boy, I would've already broken a dozen rules in an attempt to drive Umbridge out of here. I know that Harry and his friends had already tried before.

Speaking of Harry…he didn't look so great. I heard a rumor that he was having nightmares.

"Welcome to the Miss Hogwarts pageant!" she said in her sickly cheerful tone. "Before we start, I'd like to remind all of you wonderful children that you need to be on your best behavior tonight, or there will be no dance tomorrow night. Understand? As high inquisitor of Hogwarts, I have the power and duty to--" before she could finish, professor McGonagall tapped her on the shoulder.

"What was that? Ah, yes. Go right ahead Minerva."

"Thank you…Dolores…" she nearly cringed when she mentioned her name. "Now to introduce our hosts…Colin Creevy and Seamus Finnigan!"

Most of the room cheered, with the Gryffindors being the loudest.

"How is everyone doing tonight?" Seamus shouted.

The entire room cheered, a couple of Slytherins sneering at him.

"Welcome to the Miss Hogwarts contest. Tonight, fifteen beautiful girls…um…ladies, will be competing for the crown, representing our school, and of course, a chance to dance with the Hogwarts champion."

"You said a mouthful, Colin," Seamus said. A couple of students laughed. "Now, let's meet our fabulous judges. You may know her as the transfiguration professor, but we know her as the head of the Gryffindor house: Professor McGonagall!"

"This next judge enjoys taking care of plants and runs the Hufflepuff house, Professor Sprout!"

"Yay, professor Sprout!" Hannah Abbott shouted.

"Our next judge is the head of Ravenclaw house, and our favorite Charms teacher…Professor Flitwick!" Flitwick was sitting on a higher stool, and stood up in his chair so everyone could see him.

"Representing Slytherin, and the head of the potions department is…Professor Snape."

The room was rather quiet, except with the Slytherins cheering and a few other students clapping.

I never liked that greasy git.

"And of course, our headmaster…Albus Dumbledore!" Dumbledore stood up and waved to all of us.

"And now, let's bring all the girls out!" Seamus and Colin stepped off the stage and took a seat at the staff table with the teachers. One by one, the girls came out in fancy dresses, all of them trying to impress everyone.

Well, none of them really impressed me. They were pretty and everything, but they didn't act right at all. Even Cho was acting really odd…almost like she was under the imperius curse.

Near the end, Sarah came out in a pretty gold dress, but even she had a fake grin plastered on her face.

I noticed that Roger was trying to send a wink at her, but she didn't even notice. Instead, I saw her looking at me through her lovely green eyes.

'Does she like me or something?' When I saw that look in her eyes, I realized that I was being an idiot.

How come I never noticed before? Either Sarah was really bad at flirting, or I was completely oblivious to the fact that she liked me this entire time.

'Maybe I should tell her how I feel…'

Secretly, I liked her from the very beginning…I just never had the chance to talk to her, or rather, something would always prevent me from doing so. Now that Cho was out of the picture, and the triwizard tournament long gone, I could finally have a chance with Sarah.

After all the girls showed off their dresses, the judges wrote down their scores, and then had the girls come out to show off a special talent.

* * *

I woke up in a very small and dark room.

"Holy Merlin, where the hell am I?" I looked around, and I could feel mops and brooms pressed up against me.

I was in a broom closet. I began banging on the door a couple times in hopes that someone would hear me, but everyone was at that stupid pageant.

"Damn it!" I took my wand out, and my hair fell out of it's updo. Not that I gave a damn.

"Alohomora." The door opened, and I fell out of the closet along with all the mops and brooms and onto the floor.

"Ow. That freaking hurt," I grumbled. I slowly got up from the floor and looked around the corridor.

I was on the seventh floor, and I had to get all the way down to the first floor…but there was no way I would make it down all those stairs in time for the end of the pageant.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Are you lost missy?" I turned around to see a picture frame.

"And you are?"

"Sir McCullough, my lady. I hear you have a bit of a dilemma."

"Yeah, I need to get to the first floor like, right now."

"You are in luck my dear. I'm hiding a secret passage."

"Sweet. Can I use it?"

"Not without answering this riddle. What creature walks on all fours in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening."

I sighed.

"Are you kidding? It's a man. That is like, the easiest riddle ever."

"Darn it, usually most wizards don't get that one. Very well then, you may pass." The portrait opened to reveal a secret passageway.

'I really hope this is the right one.' I walked through the hole, and sure enough, I was on the ground floor next to the Great Hall.

Hopefully I had made it in time.

I tried to get through the side door to the other room, but it was locked.

"Damn it."

I was going to have to go through the Great Hall and possibly humiliate myself in front of the entire school.

"And now…our next question is for Sarah Nelson…"

I could hear Dumbledore's voice echoing throughout the hall, and I pulled the two doors open.

"Stop right there! Stop everything!" Everyone turned, and the girl up on stage glared at me.

"May I ask what is going on here?" Umbridge said sourly. "I ought to put you in detention for rudely interrupted everyone."

"Perhaps, Dolores, we should let Miss Nelson provide a reasonable explanation as to why she is in two places at once?"

Okay, now everyone was looking at me. I continued forward, keeping my eyes on the impostor that was on stage.

"Well sir, I was in the bathroom and someone had knocked me unconscious and I woke up in a broom closet on the seventh floor. As for who would want to do that to me, I don't know who it is."

Dumbledore turned to the girl next to him.

"Well then, we will continue on with the pageant. The faculty and I will deal with the dilemma afterwards." Everyone cheered in agreement.

"Here is the question, and I expect both of you to answer it with complete honesty. Why do you deserve to be Miss Hogwarts?"

"I deserve to be Miss Hogwarts, because who else should get the title? I may come from a muggle family, but I am just as magical as everyone in this room. I feel I can represent this school better than any of the other girls here."

The room cheered, then Dumbledore turned to me and signaled for me to come up on stage.

I had prepared a speech last night, but my mind was completely blanking out. My hands were starting to sweat, my heart was racing, and knowing that Cedric was in the front row didn't make it any better.

On top of that, my dress was slightly ripped, and my hair was a mess. I smoothed my hair out and began to speak.

"I…I had prepared a speech and everything and I…"

I stopped. "Aw, forget it. I don't need a stinking piece of paper." I grabbed the bottom hem of my dress, and ripped it so it fell just above my knees. "I don't need to wear a fancy dress, or crazy jewelry," I said taking off the pearl necklace.

I took my golden high heels off, and turned them into a pair of black boots.

"And I don't need to prove anything. When I first arrived at Hogwarts, I didn't have a clue on how to act like a witch. But after seven long years of being here and trying to be someone I'm clearly not…I figured out who I really am. I thought I was that tomboy, you know? The one with the pink hair? Then I thought I could be the school beauty queen…but I'm not her either. But I do believe that Miss Hogwarts is a witch that not only represents her entire school, but everyone else. And she's not afraid to be herself."

Out of the blue, I saw Cedric stand up and he began to clap. Then Fred and George stood up, all of the Gryffindors, and finally the entire school (except a few Slytherins). The whole entire Great Hall was filled with cheers, and I was amazed how much my words had won them over.

"Thank you Sarah," Colin said. "Now, since we've already gone through all the contestants, the judges will choose their top three."

"Then, all of you will vote for your favorite and we will be crowning the winner tomorrow night at the dance," Seamus added.

"During this time, we'll be having a fifteen minute intermission."

The lights came on, and everyone got up from their chairs to stretch and walk around.

The Sarah impostor was glaring at me with her arms crossed.

"You ruined everything," she said. "I was this close and you had to screw everything up!"

"Excuse me? But you're the imposter. And you know what, I bet it was you that distracted me so you could get to Cedric."

Dumbledore approached us and took us aside.

"We have deliberated, and I am going to use a polyjuice potion reversal spell. It will not affect the real Sarah, but the imposter will not be so lucky."

With the flick of the wand, a shower of silver smoke covered us both, and when it cleared, I remained the same. But standing next to me was a rather disheveled looking Pansy Parkinson with a tattered gold dress.

"Well, Miss Parkinson…since you attempted to harm a Gryffindor, I have no choice but to let Professor McGonagall deal with you. As for you Sarah, I wish you the best of luck. Now if you will excuse me, I must finish helping the judges deliberate."

Dumbledore left and Pansy glared at me. Just then, Montague showed up and looked at the both of us.

"Pansy, you're a stupid bitch. I told you to knock her out."

"I did you bloody git."

I simply listened as the two idiots argued. It turns out, Pansy wanted Cedric, and Montague wanted me, and they decided to work together to bring me down. Montague started the fire in Trelawney's room and Pansy told off Cedric during the holidays.

Was I mad?

At first yes, but their plan failed. They should've know that everyone else would've seen right through them.

I left them to their arguing, and found Cedric among a group of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw boys.

"Hey," I said. Cedric turned around and smiled.

"I had no idea you were such a great speaker," he said.

"Come on, I was terrible. Was I even that good?"

"You had me at "I don't need a stinking piece of paper."

I wanted to say aw, and hug him. What he said was very sweet.

"Cedric…that's so…sweet."

"I feel like a fool for not noticing you before."

"Then how do you feel now?" I asked.

Cedric looked down at me, and placed his hand on my shoulder. "To be completely honest, I've liked you this entire time. I just didn't know how to talk to you."

"Cedric…"

Our faces were getting really close now, and I could feel my heart racing a mile a minute. He ran his fingers through my hair, and then…

"Sarah, you're needed with the other girls," said Madam Hooch.

"I'll see you later then," I said to Cedric.

"Yeah." Before I left, I took him by surprise and kissed him on the cheek.

A few minutes later and all fifteen girls were called out onto the stage, and I was extremely nervous. I wasn't there for the first two parts of the pageant at all, but I was told I had a good walk, but Pansy did make me look like a fool during the talent portion when I danced on stage to a muggle pop song.

Dumbledore stood up and everyone began to quiet down.

"I am please to announce that we have made our decision. Your top three choices are:

Cho Chang of Ravenclaw…Evelyn Jacobs of Hufflepuff…and Sarah Nelson of Gryffindor."

Snape and Umbridge both appeared pissed off that no one from Slytherin got into the top three. On the other hand, the rest of the school was thrilled on who they could vote for.

As for whether or not I would win, it was in the hands of the Hogwarts students now.

* * *

Whoo! So much suspense. Who will win the pageant tomorrow? Have we seen the last of Pansy and Montague? And will Sarah get her kiss from Cedric?

Find out...next time!


	7. The Dance

**Chapter Seven: The Dance**

**A/N: Here's the final chapter to this story. I apologize if you've waited so long for me to update. I've been busy with other projects, school, and well, you get the idea. This chapter is a bit shorter, but I thought it was a fit ending for this story. Enjoy. :)**

* * *

After the pageant, Umbridge was called to the ministry for the night, and they left Marion Connor as her temporary replacement for the night. He was a timid, frazzled, thin man, who screamed whenever someone approached him off guard.

The perfect sucker for Fred and George's next prank.

On to more important (semi-important) matters…

I had to attend that stupid ball in a girly dress.

Well…the dress professor McGonagall found for me was not as girly as I pictured.

'Thank Merlin!' I thought. It was a sea foam green like my eyes, and covered in gold and emerald beads, and yes, it did have straps.

As for my entrance, I would have to wait in the wings with the other two girls while everyone else went into the ball. The fourth years and older were dressed up, but the younger students were in their uniforms still. They wouldn't be staying for the dance.

'Ha ha, sucks to be you,' I thought to myself.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, I followed Cho and Evelyn into the Great Hall.

It was very weird having the entire school staring at you in amazement.

Personally, I still thought I looked like a mutated swamp freak.

Once we were on the stage, Dumbledore and the heads of the houses were at a table, while Colin and Seamus were off in the wings. Dumbledore stood up, wearing shiny navy blue robes and went up to stage that had room for a band.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight, and participating in this wonderful event. Tonight is where we will announce the winner and new Miss Hogwarts. I trust that all of you voted?"

The crowd cheered, with the Slytherins hardly clapping. It was clear they were still pissed off about the Pansy-Montague incident.

"Now, let's welcome our hosts…Seamus Finnigan and Colin Creevy!"

Seamus and Colin ran onto the stage, beaming in their dress robes.

"Thanks professor. Are you ready to hear your winners?" Colin asked the crowd.

Everyone cheered.

"Let's start then," Seamus pulled an envelope from his pocket and opened it.

"In third place is…Evelyn Jacobs!" Evelyn looked rather sullen, but still accepted third place regardless.

"Next…is our runner up. Drum roll please!" said Colin. Instantly everyone began running in place to create the drum roll sound, while Hagrid tapped on the table with his hands, amazed that the table didn't break from his strength.

"Sarah Nelson! That means Cho Chang is the winner!" A crown appeared out of thin air and Seamus and Colin put the crown on her head.

"And now…Cho will begin the first dance with our Hogwarts Champion…Harry Potter."

Cho turned bright red and went to meet Harry on the dance floor. If I had won, I would've been dancing with Harry, but that was fine with me.

I got the next best thing.

"Would you like to dance?" I turned around and Cedric had his hand held out to me. I took it, without trying to scream like a giddy little fan girl.

The music was rather slow and dull at first, but I didn't give a damn.

I was dancing with Cedric. Cedric freaking Diggory!

"Are you disappointed that you didn't win?" he asked.

"Not at all. You know, second place isn't all that bad."

Cedric smiled, his eyes softening and his face was moving closer to mine.

In response, I closed my eyes and kissed him for the first time.

'Wow, he's a really good kisser!' I thought.

After what felt like an eternity, we broke apart to hear that the music was starting to speed up.

Everyone began dancing like fools, and so did we. Ginny was trying to show Harry how to dance, and the poor kid kept stepping on her feet. Ron and Hermione weren't any better, with Ron tripping after every few steps. Malfoy laughed hysterically at them, with Crabbe and Goyle laughing while stuffing their faces with food from the buffet.

Fred and George decided to shake things up and spiked the punch when the supervisor Umbridge sent to take her place wasn't watching. Seamus and Dean took one sip and began acting like complete morons, which was wicked funny.

Hell, even Dumbledore was acting a bit odd.

I had to find out what the heck was going on.

"Fred, George, what the hell did you do everyone?" I asked when I went to get some food for Cedric and I.

"We added some drunken draught to everything on the buffet table," in unison.

"Our very own concoction," George added.

"And it'll be sold at our shop this summer," said Fred.

"It's so freaky how you two always finish each other's sentences. My brother wouldn't know what I was thinking if it danced naked in front of him wearing a tea cozy."

"So true," said George. "Now, we have another prank to pull."

"I'm in. What are we going to do?"

"Just listen," said Fred. "And be amazed."

Ten minutes later and Cedric and I were still dancing together.

"May I have your attention please!" announced a very drunk Dumbledore. "We'llbehavinga…dance…contest! Noweverybodydance!"

He stumbled off the stage, muttering something about earwax and toffee.

"Well, why not?" Cedric said. "It'll be fun," he said twirling me around. "We might even win." Cedric pulled me close to him and we did a dip.

Fred and George simply stepped back and watched everyone make complete fools of themselves, half of the students and all the teachers stumbling around like idiots. Cho even looked a little off, her crown nearly falling off her head.

Only Hermione seemed un-phased, who kept trying to push Ron off her.

"Ron, I am not going to snog you, so get away from me!"

"C'mon Hermy, just one little snog?" Ron said in a slurred voice.

"No Ron. Now go away." Ron stumbled off and stumbled over to Lavender Brown, who looked more inviting than Hermione did.

Cedric and I were simply laughing and having fun, probably being one of the few sober kids in the room. But for some reason, we had some pretty tough competition. Neville and Luna weren't the dancing types, but since they spent a lot of time at the buffet table, the drunken draught was making them do some crazy stuff. Those two were dancing the tango all around the room like those people on that TV show that Walter seems to be obsessed with.

The music began to pick up, and Malfoy ended up tripping over Pansy Parkinson's dress and taking her, Crabbe and Goyle down along with him. Now those two big oafs were on top of Malfoy and Pansy. Pansy was screaming her head off, while Malfoy was shouting obscenities.

"You idiots! Get the hell off me right now! Just wait until my father hears about this!"

"Geez," I said to Cedric. "They'll probably need a forklift to get those two off him."

Cedric looked at me oddly.

"What's a forklift?"

"Some big machine muggles use to lift heavy objects to build skyscrapers."

"Oh. Okay. But you know they would be better off if they just used a levitating charm."

I laughed. When it came to muggle technology, he was nearly clueless like the rest of the wizarding world. I once showed Lee Jordan an ipod and he went crazy over it, and would sit on his bed in his room for hours listening to the same song over and over again. I think it was some dumb song from "Revenge of the Nerds" or something.

Now I'm getting ahead of myself.

The music continued to speed up, and less and less couples were remaining, and soon it was Cedric and I against Flitwick and Sprout. Snape was sitting at one of the tables cheering on the two professors, with a cup of punch in hand. Soon the beat was so fast were could barley keep up, but somehow Sprout and Flitwick fell over first making us the winners.

The entire room cheered like the drunken idiots they currently were, and Dumbledore gave us a giant gold cup and placed it on Cedric's head.

"Congratulationstoyou…hereisatrophyfor…your victory…or somethinglikethat…"

A new song played and everyone started a conga line around the room, with poor Marion being dragged by his ankle around the room by a group of drunken Ravenclaws.

Then near the end of the night, it was time for the twins to finish their ultimate prank. Lee and I created a sprinkler system and set it off during a loud song, everyone ending up soaked. All the girls were screaming over their hair getting ruined, and amongst all that screaming, Fred and George snuck up on stage dressed in black robes with hoods and mooned the entire school.

Needless to say, Umbridge was pissed when she got back on Monday and found Marion hanging from the ceiling by his ankle (that was Cedric's doing).

But after all of these events and years of spending life going unnoticed, I gained many new things. I gained confidence, respect for myself, and the uncanny knowledge of how to pull the perfect prank. These are things that no book or professor can teach you.

I also managed to fall in love as well, and I am pleased to say that after all these years Cedric and I are together and expecting our first child.

My parents weren't thrilled that we got together at first, but we managed to make it work. At Walter's wedding Cedric won my parents over, despite the whole magic thing. As for his father, he was very happy to see his son grow up and get married to "such a wonderful girl."

* * *

"Sarah, what are you doing?"

"I'm just finishing up my book is all," I said getting up from the couch. Cedric helped me up, knowing that any day now I would be having the baby. My belly was huge, and I couldn't see my feet.

"So do you think it's going to sell?" I asked him. Cedric picked up the manuscript and read the title.

"Getting the Guy?"

"Oh no, don't tell me you hate it," I said.

"Not at all. I think it's perfect."

I smiled."Me too."

THE END


End file.
